Impact of a Symbiotic Mixture on Moderate-to-severe Diverticular Disease of the Colon.

BACKGROUND

Microbial imbalance is thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of Diverticular Disease (DD).

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to assess the efficacy of a symbiotic mixture () in the treatment of moderate to severe DD, scored according to the Diverticular Inflammation and Complication Assessment (DICA) classification.

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted enrolling the following patients: at the first diagnosis of DD; in whom DD was diagnosed with colonoscopy and scored according to DICA classification; treated with two times/daily for 2 consecutive months; in whom the severity of the abdominal pain was scored with a 10-points visual-analogue scale (VAS) at baseline and the end of follow-up; in whom fecal calprotectin (FC) was assessed at baseline and the end of follow-up as μg/g.

RESULTS

Twenty-four patients were identified (10 males, 14 females; 16 as DICA 2, and 8 as DICA 3). decreased the severity of abdominal pain both in DICA 2 (p =0.02) and DICA 3 patients (p =0.01), while FC decreased significantly in DICA 2 (p <0.02) but not in DICA 3 (p =0.123) patients. Acute diverticulitis occurred during the follow-up in two DICA 3 patients but none DICA 2 patients. Add-on therapy was required by eight DICA 2 (50%) and six DICA 3 patients (75%).

CONCLUSION

In newly diagnosed patients with DD, the symbiotic mixture can be a potential treatment for moderate (DICA 2) DD as a single treatment.